Key Verse: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4 CSB)
If you have ever stood by a graveside, you know what it’s like to experience or to witness someone who is grieving. The sorrow and sadness of losing a loved one can be especially intense.
The prophet Isaiah once described Jesus the Messiah as “a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). When Jesus’s friend Lazarus died, He went to the tomb where the body had been laid, and there He wept (John 11:35). Jesus understood the pain and grief that comes from losing someone that is close to you.
This is in part why His teaching in Matthew 5:4 is a little peculiar and unexpected. “Blessed are those who mourn,” Jesus said. Someone who is walking through an experience of sadness or grief, according to Jesus, is actually someone who is happy or fortunate. It doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense at first glance.
So what exactly is Jesus trying to teach us in this statement? The kind of mourning that Jesus is referring to is primarily about our reaction to sin. It’s the genuine and heartfelt response of someone who is “poor in spirit” (v.3). This person has come face to face with their complete bankruptcy before God because of their sin and responds with sincere sorrow and sadness. This person, according to Jesus, is one who is truly blessed.
How can we know if we are experiencing this kind of mourning or grief? The Apostle Paul provided some helpful insight. He wrote that “godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret” (2 Corinthians 7:10). Godly grief doesn’t mean to be sad or embarrassed about getting caught in our sin. Nor does it refer primarily to the regret that comes from the consequences that result because of our sin.
Godly grief is the response of one who truly understands and is broken over the separation that sin has created in their relationship with God. It’s a grief that says, like the Psalmist, “My eyes pour out streams of tears because people do not follow your instruction” (Psalm 119:36). This kind of grief leads to repentance, a change of thinking that results in a complete change of behavior marked by obedience.
To what extent does this describe your own experience when it comes to sin? Does godly grief overwhelm your heart? Invite God to break your heart over sin in such a way that the fruits of true repentance mark your life more and more. The God of all comfort is near to those who respond in this way.
Prayer: Father, you are the God of all comfort. As I look at the sin in my life and in the world around me, I want to feel the same way about it that you do. Fill my heart today with a godly sorrow that produces repentance and leads to salvation without regret. Thank you for your promise to pour out your comfort and grace upon me. Amen.
Author: Jonathan Miller has served in pastoral roles for more than 13 years in churches in Barrie, Oakville and Burlington, Ontario. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Prison Fellowship Canada, a ministry that mobilizes and equips local churches to engage in the restorative work of prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families, and victims across Canada. Jon holds degrees from McMaster University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife Adrienne have been married since 2004, and live in Burlington, Ontario with their 4 children. Jon’s greatest passion is to know Jesus and to see lives transformed by Him and for Him.
